New to Recording. What do I need?

[MetalThrasher]

I want to start recording on my computer. Here is what I currently have. Macbook Air, M Audio Fastrack, 2 Yamaha HS 5's. I am going to get EZ Drummer 3. What expansion pack should I look into for EZ Drummer if I want thrash metal type drumming? What is a good DAW to use? I heard that reaper is good. Can I record with pedals? My plan is the following. Guitar ----- Noise Gate Pedal ----- OD Pedal ----- Preamp Pedal ----- Delay Pedal ----- Cab Box Pedal (Joyo Cab Modeling and Power Amp simulator) ---- Audio Interface ------ Macbook. Does this seem correct? I'm a total noob at recording so any help would be appreciated.

 

[Devin]

I'd skip using the delay pedal going in personally and just use delay inside the DAW after the fact.....like that you won't be stuck with whatever delay sound you recorded if you change your mind about it (i'd also skip the cab modeler and do that inside the DAW personally)

But yes you totally could use that chain if you really wanted

 

[TotallyRadGuitars]

I'd also put the noise gate either after the preamp or just use the software/DAW gate. Being able to customize it later on is one of the best things about modern computer recording. Putting the gate right after the guitar doesn't do as much because most noise is being generated by your OD and high gain preamp.

My favorite DAW since you have a Mac is Logic Pro. I know it's $200 new but you can trial it for free at least. I'm a bit lucky and got it through my college like 10 years ago and my license still works lol. It's expensive but the workflow is easy to understand and it comes with a lot of really nice plugins and features, amp simulator, built in drummers that are pretty decent, and other stuff. I also want to get EZ Drummer myself but have no experience, so I'm interested in what others have been using with it.

You may also prefer to skip all the chains and just plug your guitar directly into your interface. Make sure you aren't clipping the input, you may need a DI box to accomplish this well, but then you can use software amps which gives you a lot of control too. There are a lot of great amp sims, some of them free, and honestly I think some of those will sound better than a Joyo preamp/poweramp simulator pedal will, but it's all up to your taste. Later if you buy more amps too, you can use the same DI box to re-amp your guitar track through different amps or use different settings. Well worth it for the flexibility if you get into it deeper.

 

[midnightlaundry]

A Treasure Chest full of Booty..

 

[mooncobra]

I would get Logic Pro and an UA apollo. You can get whatever amp you want from UA. Right now they are still having their Black Friday sale and the amps are cheap. If I remember correctly, most amps are $49 to $99.

When you get the Apollo it comes with an analog bundle including an ampeg svt bass amp, as well as a plexi. Comes with other cool plugins also. Just plug into the Apollo and play. Use the onboard fx in logic and you are good. I recently got Logic Pro.

The fx are so much better than they used to be in logic. You would be happy with the fx. Logic has also become very impressive. Some of the features are incredible. It’s priced very fairly and if you have any questions, there are videos on YouTube that will quickly give you what you need.

You can get pro sounding guitar tracks pretty easily. The ox box is also really cool. Use your amps instead of plugins.

It’s really fun to create your own music. With the power on tap and the fast workflow of the DAWS now, you will be very impressed and have so much fun when you get the hang of it.

 

[rsm]

I don't use a Mac outside of work; but isn't Garage Band ok to start experimenting with recording, before getting a real DAW? I know it took me awhile to evaluate which DAW to purchase, but I had a few free Lite versions I tried before going with Ableton Live Suite.

I'm using software plugins to get most of my guitar sounds:

Guitar --> external wah, volume and expression pedals (expression is connected to MIDI controller, mapped to different effects in different plugin patches) --> Audient evo8 interface.

I haven't used this with Ableton yet, as I'm still experimenting with my software plugins and new tube amps.

 

[MetalThrasher]

Thanks for the feedback! Keep them coming! What would be a good choice for a DAW? Should I get Logic Pro or something else since I have a Mac. Is the M Audio fast track decent for an interface or should I get something better as I know this thing is old. What version of the Apollo should I look into?

 

[romanianreaper]

I love Reaper and have done all of mine on it. $50!

A bit of advice, just have fun and don't try to be a perfectionist. Just record and learn as you go. A few notes:

- Guitar panned right 100%
- Different guitar take panned left 100%
- Cut low frequencies. This improved my recordings tremendously. Bass frequencies ruin recordings
- Use a bit of compression as needed
- Use a limiter on the overall recording at the end

That is a basic description of some stuff. There is tons of help here on the forum too!

 

[Greazygeo]

Since you have a Mac, get Logic. It is awesome.

 

[sytharnia1560]

Thanks for the feedback! Keep them coming! What would be a good choice for a DAW? Should I get Logic Pro or something else since I have a Mac. Is the M Audio fast track decent for an interface or should I get something better as I know this thing is old. What version of the Apollo should I look into?

try Reaper..it is basically free until you decide if you want to pay for it

https://www.reaper.fm/

The fast track will be fine initially, once you get going then maybe look at upgrading, but I would just keep in simple to start with. Yes you can record with pedals into poweramp/IR .. I do that and it works well and isn't to system heavy

 

[DrewJD82]

Yeah, if you’ve already got a Macbook I’d absolutely start with Garageband. It’s Logic Lite and if ya end up digging the whole recording thing it’s a $200 jump to Logic and you’re already familiar with everything, you just have the full expanse of a professional DAW.

 

[BesaMoogie]

With Mac, Logic Pro is the logical choice. Tons of effects come with it and you are basically set up.
The free alternative would be reaper or garageband.

Have a look at EZ drummer packages, thei have multiple stuff for rock/metal production. Get it now, as they probably have some Black Friday specials

 

[Brandonrz]

Big fan of reaper, and it’s pretty easy to use. Never used logic so can’t speak on it. You’re more than set up to get started with what you have. While you’re learning you can also just go guitar into your interface and use an amp sim, stuff is really close nowadays. I would recommend a few IR packs if you to that route like Titan audio, or kohle or tues packs from bogren digital. As far as ez drummer goes I think the death metal expansion is the best one to come out. It’s taken from the death and darkness superior drummer library.

 

[TotallyRadGuitars]

Ah man, I forgot that Garageband existed. That was what I used for a long time actually just to fool around and get started. That was back when Garageband was little more than a digital tape recorder with a few meh effects. From what I understand the current, free, version of Garageband is a borderline DAW-Lite, but I don't have any personal experience with it. Can't hurt to download it and try it out, if I had to guess, it'll probably get you started and then the move to Logic will be seamless if you go that route.

 

[ClintN667]

I like Reaper but I use Studio one now and love it. Look up vids on making templates in your daw. As far as drummer software ezdrummer or GGD is the way I would go. I have SD3 and while it is a great piece of software it's overkill.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Plugin's made recording extremely easy and cheap. You just need to pick a program.. They all do the same thing. I made my decision on how the layout looked at the time..

 

[mesa4x12er]

I see you've got a lot of answers here so you're pretty well set but for me here was what I learned mattered in time-

#1 DAW doesn't really matter. None sound any better or worse. It's all about workflow and what you find most intuitive. As a result most of us favor the one we figured out how to become proficient in first. Reaper is great for the money and there's pretty much nothing you can't do with it. With that said watch some videos of others out there and see if anything you see speaks to you.

#2 You can record with pedals but it limits you. Its never been easier than it is now to get great sounds. When you record with a pedal you are committing to that sound. When you use plugins you can keep trying different delays for example until its perfect. Not to mention as you create mixes and make other decisions for other things it may influence you to want to make changes to other things such as effects. If you do use pedals I highly suggest taking a DI before hitting your pedals so you can reamp easily with different tones/FX down the road without having to create a perfect performance again.

Best of luck dude!